Smart Thermostat: Who’s cashing in and who’s missing out in Colorado?

With technology’s pace advancing faster and faster, keeping up with what’s next. like the emerging smart thermostat, can be challenging to say the least.

Now technology is finding its place on the home front like never before. With the internet of everything doing its thing, home controls for heating and cooling are in for a huge new transition.

Smart Energy, a Boulder-based SaaS company, surveyed over 350 Colorado residents to better understand their habits and knowledge when it comes to heating and cooling their homes. And the results may be a vision of the future or as they call it, The State of the Colorado Smart Thermostat.2

Only 5 percent of Colorado residents surveyed own a smart thermostat even though almost three-quarters wanted a self-adjusting thermostat. Other devices they wanted included: home monitoring cameras and master remote controls that integrate with things like locking doors and outdoor lighting.

The irony is, today energy savings are within easy reach — or touch!

A little more than half of those surveyed don’t feel the need to have a smart thermostat because they believe their current thermostat “works fine.” Besides, 21 percent feel that smart thermostats are too expensive and don’t see have a clear benefit. Another 13 percent feel smart thermostats are too high tech and don’t know how to install it.

Unaware of the potential

66 percent of survey respondents don’t know how much money they could save by simply lowering their household temperature by just 1 degree. More than half said they rarely even change the temperature on their thermostat. Where do you come in on these?

So where is all this leaving you?

The great news is when you purchase a smart thermostat in the Xcel Energy Store, you receive a $50 instant rebate applied right at checkout. The store is where you’ll find seven of today’s popular models from manufacturers such as: Nest Labs, ecobee, Honeywell, and Radio Thermostat. All models ship directly to you for free.

Thanks to great customer support along with numerous DIY videos, most homeowners are able to install their smart thermostat within an hour or so.